table saw

[bally15]

Hello
Been cutting by blanks etc using a sliding mitre saw but after a few catches and near misses i have stopped. Which table saw would be better and have a sled to cut on. Had a Ryobi one a while back but it was not great at anything but got the basics done.
Leaning towards spending a bit more and getting a jobsite saw then mounting on a table.
Thanks

 

[KenV]

Did you make a "sled" (actually more of a half sled and zero clearance bottom and hold-downs) for your sliding miter saw?? With out such an aid, pieces smaller than construction lumber can fly

And a different one for each different angle cut.

Bosch and Dewalt make good construction saws. Saw stop is the lowest risk.

 

[vtgaryw]

My next saw will be a SawStop, no question. After 40 years of woodworking, I'm thankful I still have all my fingers and I want to keep it that way.

Gary

 

[gtriever]

I agree with Ken, you might want to try a miter saw improved fence/zero clearance insert first. Then if you decide you really want a table saw, figure out what you'll actually be using it for. If that's going to be for general purposes, buy a 10" saw. If it's going to be for pen turning and small projects like modeling, you might want to look at the micro saws from either Byrnes or Micro Mark.

 

[Marcros]

I think that I would look at a small band saw. much safer than a table saw on small pieces. smaller footprint (which tends to be more relevant to us Brits!).

 

[dogcatcher]

I believe that for segmenting work for pens, a table saw and an accurate sled is the best. The bandsaws are good, but it has to be fine tuned and kept that way, I haven't found a small table top bandsaw that is "good" enough for me. On the other hand, the cheap table saws with a good sled are as accurate as the expensive ones. The cheap ones may not have a fence or miter gauge that is worth scrap metal, but the sled eliminates their use when segmenting.

 

[Mortalis]

For cutting my blanks, I use a Delta 14" bandsaw. I have a wooden fence bolted to a cross slide. I use a Timberwolf 4 tpi blade (although have used finer but it takes longer). I;ve also used the bandsaw by tilting the table to make segmented blanks as well as the celtic knot.

 

[David350]

Gary, as someone who owns both a Sawstop cabinet saw (professional 3 hp) and a Bosch Reaxx that also has the flesh detecting electronics, I would definitely recommend the Bosch. Of course they are 2 different saws, one is a cabinet, and the Bosch is a contractor size and grade. However, I had a really bad experience with the Sawstop. I was cutting some dados into western red cedar and had a brake cartridge activation. It of course destroyed the $75 brake cartridge as its designed to, but also a $150 dado set, which I suppose is better than your fingers (the activation was set off by the wood, not my fingers).

However, the Bosch doesn't destroy the blade, and it only sets you back about $45 for an activation. Its also a lot faster to recover as the blade on the Sawstop gets jammed onto the arbor with its activation. I use an Incra miter gage on both saws... If you have the choice to compare the Sawstop contractor and Reaxx, I think you will like the Reaxx better.

I sent in the brake cartridge to Sawstop to determine what happened and they said it was activated due to cutting into pressure treated wood. I am not a genius, but I know what I was cutting and can tell the difference between PT and WRC. The real kicker was that the technician said they had reports of WRC causing activations, and I told him it would have been really nice to be warned about that like they warn about PT. This poor customer service really gave me a negative attitude about them as IMHO they are very arrogant. Of course, this is my opinion so please make the best choice for you. David

 

[Curly]

David the Reaxx has been pulled after loosing a court case with SawStop over patent infringement. They still sell it here in Canada but it's $300 more than the SawStop job site saw.

By touching the wood or anything else you want to cut to the blade on a SawStop you will get flashing lights on the switch box if there is a possibility it will trigger the blade brake. If it flashes you can turn the saw on in bypass mode and it won't trigger the brake. And for what it is worth Festool recently bought SawStop. Call centre in Germany? I'd rather have a few false trips than loose a finger so I ain't giving it up. I've actually done it 3 times. Once with a tape measure when the saw was shut off but the blade was spinning down, duh. And twice with my Osborne mitre gauge when I had set it to support the wood close to the blade when cutting angles and forgot to reset it when I returned it to square cuts again, duh duh.

To the OP. Get the SawStop job site saw as a minimum. It'll save you a lot of potential misery if you make a mistake while learning to use table saws.

 

[Swagopenturner]

SawStop - No question in my mind. My fingers and my wife will always be happy!

 

[vtgaryw]

The most used saw in my arsenal is actually my radial arm saw. It was my first stationary power tool purchase over 30 years ago. I built a lot of furniture with it before I had space to add a table saw.

It's very versatile, and accurate if you know the tricks. Once a year, I go through the tune-up procedure in the manual.

Gary